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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to refuse to do half the travel?

254 replies

floatygoat · 01/12/2019 16:04

Ex has moved two hours away to live with latest girlfriend (this is the 5th girlfriend in 18 months he's shacked up with and expected our two DC to play happy families with every other weekend).

He has now announced he expects me to do half the travel.

AIBU to tell him to do one? He can have the kids when he likes but no I won't be doing half the travel. I also have a newborn and couldn't do this without several stops on the way there and back to breastfeed, even if I wanted to.

OP posts:
Abouttoblow · 01/12/2019 19:55

MintyMabel

Your BF needs to travel to pick up his children. Stop trying to make excuses for him.

perfectstorm · 01/12/2019 19:56

@MintyMabel you are placing the wishes and finances of this man above a newborn baby and two small children. That is a really, really shitty attitude. Why is it the OP's job to do all this? She's raising these children and she is making them available for contact. That's the extent of her job.

Because money - that’s what children prefer to spending time with their fathers.

Oh sweetie, grow up. Kiddies cost money to raise, newsflash! Daddy clearly feels he has better uses for the cash, but Daddy will just have to jog on. I appreciate that you think it's her job to pay him to see them (both in petrol costs, and in her time and labour driving them), you've expressed that view over and over now, but you see, you're wrong, and all the idiotic, misogynistic nastiness you choose to post on Mumsnet won't alter that simple fact.

Bollocks is this about the children's best interests, as you piously claim, because you are wholly disinterested in the interests of that newborn baby, who will be strapped into a car seat for hours, completely avoidably. It is NOT ideal at all for any baby to be stuck in a car seat for hours, breaks or not, and you also need to google 'cluster feeding' because you very clearly don't know what it means. All three children will have less money in their home, too, because petrol will eat some, just as he pays less because of the new gf's kids. None of that bothers you though, does it? This man is all you care about - his interests are the only ones you register as being real and existing. The kids can fuck themselves for all you care - why would money improve their Christmas? Why would a newborn deserve more from his or her days? As long as Dad is at home with the new gf that bit longer, and they have that bit more money to spend - right? ALL in the children's interests, of course!

OP has already said she accepts that it's important her children see their father, and that's why she facilitates their going and staying with the merry-go-round of women in his life, despite her well-founded anxieties on what that instability means for her children, and despite his clearly appalling behaviour. But you can't accept that, and are determined to demonise her. The evidence is not there. You are insisting it is a woman's job to make this man's life cheaper and easier, even if the children quite literally pay the costs of that, and it makes the newborn's life harder. And if she doesn't want to, you are insisting that makes her a bad mother.

The newborn isn't a dolly, but a person, just as real and important as anyone else. These children deserve to know that their dad wants to see them and can be bothered to make the effort to do so. This parent isn't a member of this man's staff, nor his mummy, and it's not her job to run around after him and spend her money on him - at all, but especially when that in turn adversely impacts her kids. Your posts are frankly disturbing in their wilful blindness to the best interests of the children here, and your wilful blindness to the very clear evidence that this mother absolutely does facilitate and support contact, even when concerned about the carousel of new people in their lives and the disruption this represents. It's really sad to read and all I can say is that I think you need to examine the man you are with, if this is familiar and that's why you are posting as bizarrely as you are.

Schuyler · 01/12/2019 19:57

I’m a step mum and I don’t agree with MintyMabel.

MissingMySleep · 01/12/2019 20:01

Can't believe people are suggesting you do it. Care of newborn comes first. Ex can arrange travel to see his DC. Running around after him is a terrible example to set your DC. You're doing everything right. Good luck with the feeding.

perfectstorm · 01/12/2019 20:01

@Schuyler one of my stepmums is one of the best people I've ever known. I hate the way people assume this nonsense is default setting for SM - it's like MIL, people don't post when they have lovely relationships and the person is a sweetie.

CalleighDoodle · 01/12/2019 20:03

He us utterly ridiculous

plightofthealbatross · 01/12/2019 20:03

MintyMabel has completely lost the plot.

Those 2 weekends, 4 days a month, are the ONLY break the OP gets from having to be 100% responsible for her 3 children. Why the fuck should she spend her 2 hours out of each of those 4 days driving long distances and spending money on fuel so her feckless Ex doesn't have to waste his time and money doing so. He has them 4 days a monthy; she has them 26 days a month. He'll just have to fucking suck it up and cope being the completely responsible parent for those 4 days, just like she does the other 26+.

FFS. He moved. He sorts it out. She doesn't need to use those precious hours shuttling the children around on his time.

Mulhollandmagoo · 01/12/2019 20:05

Again - it's two hours round trip -not one hour.
So you have the opportunity to stop, feed, then come back. One hour in the car at a time. Not an extended journey

There you go....@MintyMabel has sorted it for you, it's now an 'opportunity' for you to spend 4 hours of your weekend ferrying about, breastfeeding your baby in a layby somewhere, so your ex can continue to put his penis before his children!!!

Singlenotsingle · 01/12/2019 20:06

Absolutely no chance at all. He's an entitled CF and the gf needs to keep her beak out!

RandomMess · 01/12/2019 20:06

TBF sat morning to Sun night isn't 2 days...

Cuppachino · 01/12/2019 20:07

I’m a step mum and I don’t agree with MintyMabel

I'm a step-mum too and we do most of the travelling for pick-ups and I think Minty is totally deluded.

dreichXmas · 01/12/2019 20:39

I have known courts insist on both parents facilitating contact by traveling.
But if it isn't court mandated you don't have to.
If ex DP moves a lot then it may not be too long before it changes again.

pallisers · 01/12/2019 21:26

I love MintyMabel making the OP entirely responsible for her children's relationship with their father because he is feckless. How does she think that will work out? feckless selfish dads remain so no matter how much women tie themselves in knots trying to facilitate the relationship. There really isn't a relationship because the dad isn't prepared to do what it takes to have one. Contact might be nice for the children but all it will really achieve is that 2 little girls will learn that men can be as irresponsible as they like and women must pick up after them ... and so it goes, another 2 girls picking men who don't make any effort because they have been taught by their fathers that this is what men do.

How is this good for these children?

DuchessMinnie · 01/12/2019 21:58

I was in this position too OP, even with the new girlfriend deciding to give me her opinion of how unreasonable I was being. I eventually backed down and agreed to do one journey a month to meet him halfway. This worked for a few months but then he started being unavailable for the weekends when I wasn't scheduled to share the driving.

I also had someone on here telling me I should share the driving for the sake of the DC. Stuff that. I commuted every day and looked after his children 26 days of the month, he had them for 4 days and wanted me to sit on the M25 for 3 hours round trip in my precious time off.

Anyway, now he doesn't have them overnight and the gf has banned it. His loss and I am very relieved at not having to do the travel anymore.

WhoKnewBeefStew · 01/12/2019 22:11

The OP, is consistently considering her child... by doing 'life' with him. Taking to and from school, homework, lunches, reading bedtime stories etc etc.... the ex needs to put himself out and facilitate the relationship with his dc. His decision to move away, his responsibility to now travel. My ex used to do this after moving an hour away so he could be closer to work (the same job he had when we were together). I think a 2hr round trip eow is a small price to pay to see his dc and the op is already doing the lions share of the parenting and running around. OP your ex is being a CF

Crazyoldmaurice · 01/12/2019 22:15

Both of my kids would barely last 10 mins at a time in their car seats as babies. My youngest who is 2 is still a nightmare.

He moved. His responsibility. No way should you be giving up your time to drive all that way newborn or not.

CustomerCervixDepartment · 01/12/2019 23:21

You only have to make sure the kids are available for contact. That’s all, it is not your responsibility to transport them or anything, if they need explanations just tell them it’s up to their father. Tell him that his current lover isn’t to contact you and any further contact will be harassment and reported as such, obviously. Just a factual message like ‘the kids will be available for contact on Tuesday and Thursday from 4pm till 9pm. Your girlfriend is never to contact me, ever.’ When he replies gibberish about ‘but but you’re using them as WEAPONS coz you’re jealous’ simply reply the same message as before, preferably in email only and print them out. His choice to live an hour away, his responsibility to arrange contact with his offspring, 100% not your problem.

lisag1969 · 01/12/2019 23:27

Tell him you can't do it. It's not your fault he's moved again ,if he wants to see his kids he will travel. If he doesn't that's his loss. Probably the kids will be better off out of it anyway. Seeing all these different women

lisag1969 · 01/12/2019 23:32

Tell her to mind her own bloody business it's between you and him.
Tell her she's in a long line of women that he's had a In last 18 months and she hasn't been in their life long enough to have a say. Tell her he will move on again soon so don't get to comfortable

MzPumpkinPie · 01/12/2019 23:56

@MintyMabel you are clearly an entitled CF just like @floatygoat ex.

Why should she facilitate him this way?

Is he going to up the CM to cover the petrol , cost of wear and tear on her car .
All the extra miles added to it ?

No she bloody shouldn't agree to this at all.

Her kids will unfortunately understand because daddy has a terrible track record of being a feckless idiot , who puts his needs before his DC.
Which he has done again by moving so far away from them. By choice, not need.
The 10 year old will especially see this behaviour and will be taking it all in.

He's a CF. Op is just trying to give her DC a nice stable life and her family time with her partner and newborn at weekends should not be eaten into by this deadbeats demands.

You sound like a bitter step mum , who's DH's ex won't dance to your screeching tune.

He should get real and you should get back in your box or bridge or wherever you fury footed lot dwell.

Chocmallows · 02/12/2019 00:05

I agree with the poster who said you only have to facilitate access. This means having them awake, dressed and ready to go, not taking on his parental responsibility to collect and return as he chose to relocate.

Set the boundaries now. No you cannot get involved in his travel arrangements, yes you can have them ready for him to collect.

Do not reply with emotion, reply with concise facts and repeat broken record.

Divebar · 02/12/2019 00:07

The thing is 2 hours is likely on a good day with no problems. I’ve been driving my DD as a small baby and have been completely snarled up in stop / start traffic on the M25 unable to leave the motorway and with her screaming the car down. It was awful. It also doesn’t take into account the fact we have probably 5 months of awful weather coming up. What parent wants their children to be travelling in dark, shitty weather when the whole thing could have been avoided.

Savingshoes · 02/12/2019 00:31

YANBU but I imagine him collecting his daughters, having them for the weekend and then messaging you with "children are ready for their collection, I'm not driving them home" at the end of each weekend.

Chocmallows · 02/12/2019 00:46

Saving, if he did this OP could message and say she is unable to collect due to newborn and that it isn't their agreement.

He will also have to drop back to be able to work the next day.

TheMaddHugger · 02/12/2019 00:59

@MintyMabel do you need a (((Hug))) ?

to refuse to do half the travel?
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